So I'm Dead
by slinkyrabbit
Summary: knowing everything about Jethro & Tony has its advantage getting them to see that is another story. of course none of it will mater if your Dead. can the team figure out this latest case before its to late and what will happen when they do.slash
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

-Snap- "Ah dam it "

well that's the end of that, as I sat at the kitchen table and stared and the snapped blade. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to being using that on the toy gun, especially since it was dad's exacto blade I had been using.

Of course later when I explained what had happen he simply laughed saying I was lucky it didn't go flying off into my eye, while I had been applying to much press to it, or for that matter damage the table. Now in my defense I was using the method he had suggested to cut the toy gun I just didn't have the patience's it required to score it properly which had lead to the blades eventual break. And so here I was in the local hardware store trying to find a replacement for my dad, of course truth be told I knew nothing about buying tools, sure I could use them and obviously break them, but when it came to there purchase I was lost. go figure!

after having circled the store for the dozenth time , at which point I believe I started mumbling about the conspiracy of it all. Someone tapped me on the shoulder " can I help you there miss? " shocked and a little embarrassed by being caught talking to myself. I turned around slowly and met the most crystal blue eyes I had ever seen. He was an older man with a gentle face and snow white hair with just a hint of peppering , a smirk gracing his lips. I was in complete and utter shock before me stood the spiting image of Jackson Gibbs. Without missing a beat he said " you look like you've just seen a ghost" a bit of humor in his tone .

Still a little slack jawed I answered , hoping I wouldn't stutter to much." um no sorry I uh..." thankfully, he interrupted " was there something I could help you find Hun"

" O sorry I was trying to find a scoring blade thingy, my dad said that this was the place to come but I'm completely lost"

lifting his hand to his chin, which I now noticed had being leaning on a came.

" hum I believe what your looking for would a blade kit there over on aisle 4 or 5,with the hobby items. Course I've haven"t been here in a while" He smiled back at me and suddenly my cheeks turn pink , I must have passed thru those very aisles several time never noticing the blades.

" come on now , let see if we can find those for you" he started leading me to towards that section and then looking over the kits picked one out and handing it to me

" thanks you very much …... um you don"t work here do you"

"na but after seeing you walking around like a lost soul figured I'd see if I could help "

" Wow thanks again that was very sweet of you, o by the way I"m Beth" extending my hand to him he gently took it " pleasure to meet you dear , my friends call me Jack" I nearly swallowed my tongue at that, this was just to weird. "now have we got you all set? "

laughing " yeah I think so " smiling we said our goodbyes and I headed to the front to pay and leave. The whole encounter however brief playing over in my head ' I've really got to stop watching so much TV'

Shrugging it off I got home and went back to work on my project , with the new blades I finished quickly and was able to get to bed on time for a change.


	2. Chapter 2

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

I awoke to a strange feeling, several actually . My nice soft warm bed, felt more like a cold cement slab, and instead of hearing my alarm or even my kitten meowing at me, to feed him. I could hear traffic noises , and people moving around me. but the strangest of all was I felt like someone was trying to shake me awake.

A muffled mans voice kept repeating in my head, " Miss can you hear me...Miss are you alright..." as I tried to open my eyes, the feeling and sounds seemed to amplify until everything came rushing in. First there was the fact that I was no longer in my bed, or even in my house for that matter, but on a sidewalk some where and the voice and shaking to my shoulder was being done a by a male police officer , he was leaning over me with a worried expression on his face. " everything's going to be alright an ambulance has been called, and its on the way, can you tell me your name miss"

I tried to answer but my throat burned, and my lips felt sewn together. I thought about what he had said, 'an ambulance , what had happened to me? , and where was I ?' I tried to sit up , but he kept a firm hand on my shoulder, " easy ,you need to stay down your bleeding, can you tell me where you're hurt" I tried to take stock of myself , ' I was bleeding but where? I didn't feel any pain' ,but then as I began to stretch, there was a sharp burning in my back, and side. Then a radiating dull pain throughout my body, that I hadn't noticed before. None of this made any sense, I needed to get up, to move, to try and figure this all out.

Some how I was able to push myself up, fighting a severe wave of nausea that crashed into me and blurred my sense, and the officers repeated pleas not to move. Looking down I noticed my body was badly bruised, and bloody. Moreover, I was no longer wearing my well worn bugg's bunny PJ's but a torn and dirtied, tailored skirt suit, it looked to be a soft charcoal gray, that went nicely with the black heel on my foot, since the left shoe was missing. carefully I looked around me, there was no sign of a purse , briefcase or any other personal items.

A crowd had begun to form around me , as I sat up on the sidewalk. Suddenly it dawned on me, I was in a major metropolitan city that I didn't recognize, my head began pounding . Fear gripping me and I forces myself to stand up. Everything was spinning, and there were so many voices talking all at once. I just wanted it all to stop, so I could breath. That's when I noticed something sticking against my back, it was cold, and metal. I reached back for it, and yanked it forward.

Suddenly I heard screams all around me, " she's got a gun!..." " look out!..." " get down!..." " put the gun down now!..." what was going on ? I didn't understand , my vision cleared, and I realized I was the reason for all of this fear, in my hand was a large gun, but that wasn't the only gun I saw, there were now six maybe more pointed directly at me. My heart began to race, and my body trembled, my first thought was to run , but I couldn't move, my body was frozen in place. I was trapped in this horrible nightmare with no way out.

But just then, there was a loud crashing sound, the shock seemed to free up my body, I dropped the gun, but then the unthinkable happened, when the gun hit the sidewalk it went off causing more screaming and yelling. My fight or flight instance kicked in, and I began running, I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I need to run and so I just let my legs carry me away, until I tripped, and was falling. It was as if everything had suddenly slowed down to a crawl in those seconds. Hitting the pavement, the loud horn blast from the semi truck ,as it was barreling down on me, the screams of the bystanders and then nothing.

But then there was warmth wrapped around me, and another heart beat ,I blinked several times, trying to focus my eyes, and clear my thoughts ' was I dead? , was this heaven?.' " close call there beautiful..." a masculine voice replied as if hearing my very thoughts. My mind cleared a little more and I could now feel, powerful arms wrapped around my body, holding me tightly, to a very male chest, ,my head cradled against the crook of his neck. As I lay against him , I began to notice other things like that he was panting, as if he just couldn't quite catch his breath, and that his heart was still pounding. Concerned ,I slowly pulled away from his neck, my throbbing body protesting the movement ,looking down at his handsome face, I think I truly now understood, how Alice must have felt. " Tony!..." then everything went blissfully black.

This time when I awoke, it was to an annoying bleeping noise, and the sterile alcohol smell, of a hospital room. the pain that I had felt earlier was dulled, but still there, my vision was clear and forced now , but that did little to help, since the room was in near complete darkness, if not for the lights coming from the machines next to the bed. I let out a sigh, " returned to the land of the living I see..." a masculine voice said, as a lamp was turned on, next to me, revealing NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in all his glory. My eyes must have bugging out of my sockets, but still ,I tried to speak ,"To-tony but how, this isn't..." the burning feeling from before hit me full force. I began to cough and struggle for air.

Tony quickly moved to my side, helping me to sit up to ease my distress, and offered me water to, help soothe my throat

" easy there sleeping beauty , your safe here"

I took a moment, and calmed myself, starting again " where am I?"

" The Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland!"

Shocked, but remaining calm, I continued, "Why am I here?"

" you were shot in the side , beaten, and strangled , so you've got a couple of bruised ribs , concussion, damaged vocal cords , in general the works. Now I have a question for you, my little spitfire, you got a name to go with that glare?"

sighing, I was letting my aggregation get the better of me , whatever situation I may, or may not be in wasn't his fault, and he had probably saved me life. " I'm sorry my name is, Beth"

" Just Beth?"

"for now"

" well just Beth as you seem to already know, my name is .."

" NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo Jr, yes I know who you are" smiling he sat back a little, and putting his arms behind his head

" well it seems you have me at a disadvantage again Beth, care to explain" I didn't answer instead, I looked down at my hands, honestly I didn't know how to answer without sounding 100% insane , how do you tell someone you know almost everything about them, because there a fictional character on a TV series ,you watch religiously.

With tears in my eyes I looked back at him, " I can't" he reacted quickly, moving to wrap me in his arms, and hold me as I cried, " whoa easy there, everything will be alright , we'll figure this out, and you'll get your memories back in no time" well at least that would buy me some time, and it was better he thought I had amnesia, I hated to lie, but in this case I didn't have a choice, at least until I figured out what the hell was going on. He held me for a while longer, and I drifted to sleep hoping beyond hope that this had just been one fucked up dream. And I would wake up back in my bed where I belonged. Of course we all know that's not what happened.

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><p><p>

Edited ^^


	3. Chapter 3

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

This time when I awoke it wasn't to just Tony, but to another visitor as well, " Afternoon sleepy head" Tony greeted me, a gentle smile on his face , but my eye where not on him, but his goth chick forensic scientist, she bounced up from her seat, " Hi I'm Ab.." "Abigail "_Abby_ Sciuto NCIS forensic specialist " she frowned ,and then turned ,and punched tony in the arm, " ouch Abbs what was that for"

" I wanted to introduces myself to Beth, Tony!"

" Um Abbs I didn't tell her anything about you" 'I wanted to smack myself for that slip of the tongue '

" Hes telling the truth Abby, I'm sorry, but I just knew who you where" turn back toward me she smiled

" wow this is so cool , we have a real mystery on our hands... your sure your not a mind reader right...what am I thinking right now?" she closed her eye in concentration, and faced me. Sheepishly Tony shrugged at me

" um Abbs, Beth isn't a mind reader , shes just lost her memory" blinking Abby look at Tony then back at me

" O sorry Beth, how can we help" Abby look eagerly between Tony, and myself.

" well since Beth seems to know all about you , me, and NCIS , I'm going to take a guess, and say she works for one the alphabet agencies, so I need you to take her prints ,and DNA, to run them through afis ,and the other databases"

" Tony that's a great idea... should we call in the rest of the team...have you talked to Gibbs yet?"

'My heart clenched, Gibbs! In all the commotion, I had forgetton about the second b for bastard, coffee addicted, sawdust smelling , silver-fox, former marine gunny sniper , NCIS Special Agent _Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I'm so completely screwed '_

"Beth are you alright" lost in my tail spin of fear, I hadn't notice that my heart rate had increased, causing the alarm in the heart monitor to trigger, I took a shaky breath, and look at them ,concern evident on there faces . Abby sat down next to the bed reaching out and taking her hand in mine.

" Its ok, Beth we'll figure this out, you don't need to worry." Meekly, I looked at her, she actually had tears in her eyes for me, a complete stranger. she was a truly caring soul. Looking to Tony, who had remain quiet during this exchange , a look of determination on his face, and something else I couldn't identify. Quickly it was replaced by the famous DiNozzo megawatt smile . He look like he want to say something, but we were then interrupted by a nurse coming to check the cause of the alarm. once she was assured that everything was in order, she left effectively ending our little kodak moment.

"Listen Abbs, why don't you get our girl here all squared away, and I'll call the team" he motions to his phones as he started to head for the door.

"wait!" I nearly jumped out of bed to stop him, my gripping fear now returning full force. Abby again patting my hand trying to calm me.

" I know you have no reason to listen to my request, but please can we just keep this between us for now, and beside its Sunday morning , your team deserves some much needed rest I'm sure". He gave me a look ,but then nodded in understanding , since this wasn't an official case yet, I would have some leeway with the both of them until there over whelming need to include the others more specify Gibbs became to great. Hopefully by then I would be far away from here.

" Now in all seriousness I need coffee, caf-pow Abbs"

"Sounds great Tony!, Beth can he get you anything?"

" um, some hot chocolate maybe"

" Will do! Ladies I shall be back " he winked then headed out the door.

Abby turned back to me a wicked smile on her lips " So whats got you so spooked about bossman?"

And that's where I nearly choked on my tongue.

" what are you talking about Abby" I tried to say innocently, obviously it didn't work , she raised an eyebrow at me "Suree...now spill"

" really, Abby its nothing I just.." 'how was I suppose to finish that sentence , that I knew all about Gibbs and his entire team for that matter ,that I had watched them all for 10 years thru all the ups and downs, grieved for there loses and celebrate there trumpets as any devoted watcher of the TV show in which they were all fictional characters , would. Instead I settled on a different approach.

" its just I have bits and pieces of memories, and I'm not sure who to trust right now"

She smiled at me sympathetically " its going to be alright you're safe now, we'll figure everything out, you've got me, and Tony in your corner . Plus I just know, the rest of the team would feel the same way. " she smiled then grabbed her purse ,and pulled out her printing kit " now lets find out who you are"

Edited ^^


	4. Chapter 4

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2013 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

Down in the hospitals cafeteria , Tony was paying for the drinks when his cell phone went off

" DiNozzo"

"Tony"

" Hey Mcgoo, whats up? They cancel your Sunday morning cartoons. "

" Ha ha very funny Tony. No I was just calling to see if you have heard from Abby, today. I was suppose to meet her after church but she never showed for bunch" busted Tony had picked Abby up straight from church to come meet Beth at the hospital. In all the excitement Abby must have forgotten about her plans with Tim. Guiltily he replied " Um well see she with me at the hospital right now "

" hospital! Tony whats going on? are you alright? , is Abby alright ? what happen? I'm on my way right now"

" whoa whoa easy Tim everything is alright , we're just visiting a friend is all , Abby and I are perfectly fine" of course that wasn't entirely true Tony was still pretty banged up from saving Beth from certain death yesterday but Tim didn't need to know that.

" -sighing- that's good, your friend it isn't anything serious I hope"

" She bumped, bruised and her memories are a little fuzzy but otherwise , shes in good spirits" **Rule ****#7:** Always be specific when you lie. _Tony felt guilty lying to his partner and friend but he made a promise to Beth and he felt compelled to kept it. _

_"Good, listen can you ask Abby to call me later"_

_"Sure, got to go catch you later __McGee__" he hung up not waiting for a reply ' I must have hit my head harder then I thought if i'm slipping to Tim' shaking it off , he grabbed the drinks and headed back up to the girls. _

_As he entered the room he caught the tail end of laughter. Beth was propped up on the bed with Abby sitting on the bed in front on her working on her nails._

_"o Mani Pedi time, I call next"_

_"Tony! " Abby and Beth looked up at him as he hand them there drinks_

_"What I could use one and I'm man enough to admit it" taking a sip of his coffee, Abby roll her eyes but continued working on Beth's hands._

_"Thanks Tony , Abby was just helping me to get the ink on my fingers and noticed how chipped my nails were and thought she'd help since I still can't move around to much." Tony nodded eying her bandaged side and the IV's connected to her arms._

_"there all done" Abby clapped her hands and sat back clearly pleased with her handy work._

_" They're great Abby, thank you so much" Beth's nails were now clean and shinny with little webs on her thumbs Tony lend over and admired the design, with a sly look on his face_

_"Nice Abbs, very artsy... hey by the way did you happen to forget to do something today"_

_paling for a moment Abby suddenly jumped up "O no Tim"_

_"got it in one, Mcworrier called me looking for you, seems you forgot to cancel your D-A-T-E"_

_in a hurry Abby grabbed her purse and heading out the door, but not before smacking Tony's shoulder _

_" It wasn't a date, Tony, I'm sorry Beth but I've got to run , I'll run these for you and call you once I get __the results" she hugged Beth and whispered in her ear " don't worry everything will be fine" she then turned to Tony " you behave!, see you both later " and in a flurry of pig tails she was gone._

_" Alone at last " _

_" um Yeah, would you like to sit down" Beth motioned to the bed, there was an awkward silence between them._

_"Thanks, listen I" " I never got" they interrupted each other and started laughing and then there was along pause._

_" Tony , I... (she reached out to hold his hand) you saved my life and I don't know how to thank you"_

_"How about we start with what happened to you"_

_ looking down at their hands , she slowly looked up into his bright emerald eye that she'd seemed so many times before, but never really seen. "I honestly don't know"_

_"And the gun"_

_" I didn't know what it was , it was sticking to my back , I wasn't trying to hurt anyone I didn't know where I was or what was going on its all just a blur, everyone was shouting and my head was spinning" Beth started to tremble as if a chill had settled into her body. Tony reached over and grabbed the bed robe on the chair and wrapped it around Beth's shoulders _

_"is that better"_

_"ya thanks I'm ok now just tired"_

_Tony moved to get up " I'll let you get your rest then" a hand reached up and held his wrist_

_" Please will you stay... at least until I fall asleep"_

_"Sure...Beth, you know your safe now . I promise I will keep you that way. Now gets some rest, I'll be here" he helped her ease back to lied down and took the seat next to the bed , stretching out and get comfortable. Her eyes began to get heavy "Thank you Tony" she softly whispered and she let sleep claim her. _


	5. Chapter 5

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 5 <em>

_Abby had just exited the elevator and was heading into her lab , when she walked straight into a very male chest. Before she could fall on her behind strong arms wrapped around her waist keeping her upright._

_ " In a hurry there Abbs" humor evident in his voice . Abby didn't even need to look up to know who it was , the scent of sawdust and oldspice had given him away in a instance _

_"Gibbs what are you doing here?"_

_"I could ask you the say, Abbs"_

_laughing " yeah your right,i just needed to check on something, and you my silver fox?"_

_smirking at the that comment " just finished up some things on the Wiley case for court"_

_"need any help ?"_

_"already finished, heading for some coffee, caf- pow Abbs?"_

_" no thanks Tony gave me one before I left the hospital"_

_"Hospital Abby?"_

_ going white " I wasn't suppose to say that..." she quickly moved pass him into her lab muttering, and facepalming herself. As she loaded the prints into the computer All the while trying to avoid eye contact with Gibbs._

_"Abby whats going on?"_

_" I wasn't suppose to tell you"_

_"Abbs"_

_"I promised Gibbs"_

_"Rule 4"_

_She stopped and stared at him " Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best" sighing " ok but you can't be mad at Tony , pinky promises" holding her pinky out the Gibbs , he did the same. _

_"Well you see yesterday while Tony was out running errands, he sort of jumped out in the middle of traffic and saved this girl"_

_"WHAT!"_

_"Gibbs wait let me finish ok, Tony's fine just a little banged up , he's not in the hospitable, well I mean, he is but not because he need's to be, course maybe he does?"_

_"Abbs focus! "_

_"O right... , anyways he called me after church to come by, and meet the girl , Beth,the poor thing had been put thru the ringer, she had been shot, beaten, and strangled, with no memory of how it happened. or where she was. But the strange thing was she seems to know who we were, and all about NCIS, so Tony had me print her, figuring she must work for one of the agencies. So here I am..."_

_"I'm heading up to Bethesda" he stormed pass her heading for the elevator. Abby yelled after him _

_"Gibbs wait! , Beth is very shaken, and Tony and I promised not to say anything to anyone, at least until we found out who she is. We think someone maybe after her._

_" Call the team !" he said as the doors closed_

_"this is so not good!" Abby muttered to herself as she headed back into her lab, just then , the computer dinged alerting her to a match, clicking on it, she pulled up an open murder case investigation __of CIA Analyst Beth Rosen , she grabbed her phone and dialed "Tony we have a problem!"_

_Tony had stepped out into the hall as to not wake Beth, his cell pressed to his ear._

_"Abbs slow down , what do you mean murder victim, how is that even possible? sure shes been roughed up, but shes alive. this doesn't make any sense, your sure there's no mistake, Abbs!.." _

_ "positive, her prints and DNA are a 100% match, you don't even fine that in twins, its her alright" _

_" But how can that be, you said it yourself, they have already preformed an autopsy, hell they have a body for crying out loud!"_

_" Woah, Tony I'm just telling you what the evidents is telling me, I don't know what to make of it either. until we get all the original case files there's little i can go on., Gibbs has had me call in the team, and get them up to speed. McGee and Ziva are already working with what they where able to pull and Gibbs should be .."_

_"Behind you DiNozzo"_

_Spinning around to face Gibbs, the phone still pressed to his ear " Boss!,...I'll call you back, Abbs" closing the phone not waiting for a reply " Boss I can explain, I..."_

_"Can it DiNozzo!, were is she?"_

_Pointing to the room " In there, but shes resting Boss" _

_but Gibbs had already entered the room, now quietly he observed the sleeping woman in the bed. Her strawberry blonde hair was laid out on the pillow like a fiery halo ,he could see bruises on her face, neck and upper arms , the finger print bruise around her neck made his gut turn ,and blood boil. She had a good figure, curvy but fit, and from the damage to her hands, he could tell that she had not gone down without a fight. She began to whimper ,and tremble in her sleep . Gibbs moved forward, and pulled the cover up around her. gently rubbing his hand against her cheek to smooth her, it seemed to work, and she fell back into a peaceful sleep. he turned and signaled to Tony, who had returned to the room. They headed out into the hall closing the door slightly. __  
>" what do we know?" Gibbs voice was tight <em>

_" Abby ran her prints and DNA ,came back with a name ,Beth Rosen shes an Senior Analyst for the CIA and apparently shes already dead, has been for over 3 weeks there's currently an on going investigation into her murder . _

_The CIA's headquarters ,Langley Virginia_

_-A ringing phone- " Booth"_

_"Agent Booth this is Agent Stewart from the __Cyber Division__ , there been a ping on our network for an open case you and Agent Kramer are working"_

_"Yes I see which case is it"_

_"the Rosen murder'_

_At the moment Agent Brock Booth's blood ran cold , his voice became steel " Who issued the ping"_

_"NCIS , sir" of course it had to be NCIS , when would those fuckers learn there place and to stay out of the CIA's way._

_"Sir should I notify the Director for approval of there request.?"_

_"No I'll handle it personally,is that all Agent Stewart?"_

_"Yes Sir" so the navy cops thought that had a lead on Rosen's murder , that bitch was beginning to be more trouble then she was worth. So maybe he'd just let them do some digging to get him what he needed and he could just swoop in and take it. This might not be such a bad turn of events. Plus it might snap Kramer out of his funk if he thought there was a break in the case of his precious little whore. Yes things were shaping up nicely now. _

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><p><p>

_Edited ^^_


	6. Chapter 6

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 6<em>

_NCIS Bullpen_

_frustrated Ziva slams down her phone, after yet another died end, standing up and moving from her desk to in front of the plasma screen, she turns towards McGee_

_" I do not understand if this CIA Senior Analyst is alive why is there still an on coming investigation into her murder . Which they will not confirm or denied, but instead continue to send us on a wild duck chase "_

_Without missing a beat or taking his eyes off his computer screen McGee replied _

_"That's on going investigation and wild goose chase, Ziva"_

_ She throws the remote at him and he ducked barely missing it. " That is not the point McGee!"_

_He rose from his desk to stand next to Ziva_

_"Alright calm down, I know we've been going over this for a while lets step back and go over what we know"_

_with the remote in hand McGee begin pulling up the files as he goes._

_ "Beth Rosen , Age 26 CIA Senior Analyst , Apparent murder victim, body was found in her car on the side of the road , after bleeding out from a gun shot wound to her side. an autopsy was preformed on the body to which the dental records, finger prints and DNA was identical in addition to the damage sustained to our victim "_

_" Twins ?"_

_" Not likely the chance of that are astronomical, plus shes an only child , her mother, Nacy Rosen died in childbirth"_

_"Father"_

_" United States Navy Commander Douglas Rosen, killed in action during the __USS ___Cole___ bombing__ ,October , 2000._

_" Alright McGee, what was she working on before she was killed? "_

_" She was working on establishing criminal profiles that include prior crimes and criminal relationships to aid in making a connection between members of an terrorist cells ring in __Bali. She recently helped the Indonesian government to append several of the cells."_

_Ziva stared At Beth's picture on the plasma screen , trying to complacent this young woman_

_" Yes I remember read about in the news, quite impressive _

_"She a __hellion____that one "_

_ Turning Ziva and McGee was now face to face with CIA Agent Trent Kort. He stood tall and moved like a predator across the Bullpen. He was well dressed and clean cut , no longer wearing an eye patch, they expect to see._

_" Kort do what do we own this most unwelcome visit" _

_" Good to see you to Agent David , McGee, now enough with pleasantries whats this I hear about you looking into the Rosen murder. _

_McGee quickly switching the plasma off , crossing his arms in front of his chest in a very Gibbs like fashion " And your interest in this case would be ?"_

_"Shes one of ours ,you don't see me trampling over your graves, now answer the question" his tone threatening._

_Ziva tensed next to McGee ready and willing , if this Kort want to fight she would be glad to accommodate him. _

_" Enough!" a deep authoritative male voice rang out , they all looked up to see Director Vance standing on the balcony , above them. " David, McGee, my office , Kort conference room, NOW!_

_Begrudgingly they follow his orders , after entering Vance's office , he slammed the door behind them. " Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on and Why I've got the Director of the CIA breathing down my neck for interfering with a CIA investigation, I wasn't even aware that your team was working a case, could have worn I signed a 3 day pass for you people. _

_"Director.."_

_" Wheres Gibbs and DiNozzo ?"_

_Right on que " Right here Leon" _

_"Gibbs" "Boss" Ziva and McGee clearly surprised to see there leader entering the directors office at that moment._

_Vance sighed and went to lend against his desk , tooth pick clamped between his teeth " grilling my team Leon?"_

_ Vance squared off his shoulder ready for the on coming confirmation with Gibbs" you didn't give me much choice Gibbs, I'd like to know what I'm sticking my neck out for"_

_" McGee!"_

_"On it Boss!" McGee accessed the case files and began to read Vance in on the case, by the time he was finished Vance was sitting back in his chair , looking completely aggravated. " Sounds like we've brought a knife to a gun fight" Gibbs smirked at the irony of that statement "DiNozzo?" " on protection detail" " very well I'll buy you some time with the CIA can't guarantee much , don't think I need to tell you this but this stays needs to know only" Gibbs nodded , the two locked glares for a moment , Ziva could swear a unspoken communication passed between her boss and the director._

_Gibbs turned and headed for the door Ziva and McGee on his six , he paused after they had exit the office but does not turn back_

_"Kort? "_

_"an unfortunate but necessary evil, use him."_

_Gibbs doesn't answer but closes the door behind him._

_Gibb ignores the team and head straight for the conference room , to deal with the thorn in his side Trent Kort. _

_Entering the room Gibbs find Kort sitting at the table as if he owned the places._

_"Gibbs so glad you could join me"_

_"Depends on why you're here, Kort." Gibbs said smoothly _

_ " you wound me Gibbs, I'm merely here as a concerned citizen" _

_" Not buying it, What do you really want Kort?" there was a pause._

"Help." He said lowly.

"Help? What the CIA doesn't have their agent's six?" Gibbs stated flatly.

"there's blood in the water and the natives are getting restless, someone gone rouge"

"wouldn't be the first time, what you can't take care of this in house"

"not an option"

at that Gibbs raised and eye brow . " what does this have to do with the Case"

" Not sure but its somehow the center of all this, why was NCIS running Rosen's prints , what did you find?

"Not what, but who?"

A look of shock and horror came across Korts face " you found her body" already heading for the door " Dr. Mallard got her"

"No"

He turns back and gets in Gibbs face "what do you mean no, what the hell is going on Gibbs"

straight faced he whispers " Shes alive"

Korts emotions betray him and he takes a step trying to steady himself , so many unanswered question running thru his mind. He firms his resolve and his mask falls back into place. " Take me to her"

Gibbs study's Kort trying to get a read on him, his face shows no emotion but there something in the eyes that give him away, he says nothing just pushes pass him heading for the elevator with Kort on his six.

_Edited ^^ _


	7. Chapter 7

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

The _Bethesda Naval Hospital_ ,Maryland

The room was dark an eerie glow cast by the various monitors and Tony had remained by Beth's side like the loyal Saint Bernard, everyone knew him to be. When Gibbs had shown up at the hospital Tony was sure he was done for , ready for the head-slap of the century

-flashback-

_" _what do we know?" Gibbs voice was tight__

_" _Abby ran here prints and DNA and came back with a name ,Beth Rosen shes an Senior Analyst for the CIA and apparently shes already dead, has been for over 3 weeks there's currently an on going investigation into her murder . McGee and Ziva are already reviewing the case files and evident , Abby has prints and DNA for comparison. And the protection detail is on its way"__

_ _Gibbs nodded released some of the tension that had build up in his body , his senior field agent was on point. Looking at Tony's face Gibbs could see fatigue starting to set in before he continued __

"_look boss I know I screwed up, and I should have called you and the team first..." _

_reaching his hands out and placing them on either shoulder _" __DiNozzo, you did good" then a hand came to rest on the back of his head and instead of the head-slap he expected, Gibbs slowly stroked the back of his head still looking into his eyes. __

_" _But I..." __

_"_Rule 51"__

_" _what I don't understand Boss" shock and dismay on his face.__

__Gibbs Spoke gently still stroking Tony's head " Sometimes your wrong" He was about to say something more when he's cell went off. Effectively ending the moment.__

__-end flashback-__

_He did good ,that's what Gibbs had said , but then why didn't he feel that he hadn't done the right thing. And why was Gibbs admitting to doing something wrong. There were so many unanswered questions, he was missing something but he couldn't figure out what. And then there was the way Gibbs had looked at him with concern and understanding , but there was something else that _he'd_ seen. He was distracted from his thought when a groan reached his ears. Leaning down he met Beth's glaze._

_" Hey you"_

_'"Tony , your still here"_

_"Of course I am I did promise and a Dinozzo always keeps his promise"_

_"ha ha , why don't I believe that, Whats really going on" Tony smiled it was weird how she seemed to __be able to read him so easily, but also familiar. _

_"listen Beth, while you were out we found out some new information"_

_She slowing sat up more in the bed and then spoke" do you know how I am"_

_Tony nodded but she could tell he was holding something back " does the name Beth Rosen, ring any bells?"_

_"... I'm not sure maybe" it was her name alright but , how could they know that. in all honesty she couldn't remember there ever being a character in the series with that name, so she was flying blind. Falling further done the rabbit hole, as it were._

_He paused and took a breath "well it turns out your a spook" he meant that in more ways then one._

_Shocked she was almost afraid to ask " I work for the CIA?"_

_"Afraid so" _

_she buried her head in her hands and groaned " this can't be happening" If she had to be here , that was the worse possible place for her , Because on NCIS anything or anyone from the CIA meant major trouble. _

_"hey it could be worse you could be a suit" Tony joked trying to lighten the mood._

_she glares at him " Not helping here"_

_" all jokes aside we do have a …."_

_they were interrupted when the door to the room opening and there stood Gibbs"_

_Shocked she responded before she could catch herself " Gibbs" it came out more like a squeak , he didn't say anything but his expression softened slightly towards her._

Concerned Tony stood up_" _Beth I'll be right back_"_

Before he could head for the door, her hand instinctively grabbed his , he look back

" I promise"

That seemed to soothe her and she lets go and relaxes slightly. He headed out the door and gentle pulls it closed behind him.

He looks up " Boss, what do we..." Tony noticed Kort leaning against the wall across from him "whats the hell is this lying bastard doing here" Tony starts forward, quickly Gibbs grabbed him before he could throw a punch

" Stand down _Dinozzo!" His tone left no room for argument. _  
>"Nice to see you too!" Kort smirks<p>

_Tony looked to Gibbs distressed " Boss whats going on!" _

_Gibbs nodded towards Kort"Care to Explain that "_

_From is spot leaning against the walk Kort rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. _

_" Its not that simple, I need to debrief Rosen first " _

_Tony tensed " Not going to happen your not getting anywhere near her, hes lying Boss, can't you see that" he fought against Gibbs hold._

_Gibbs turn his focus to Kort " you can do better then that"_

_he smirked " ever the trusty bloodhound Gibbs, seems Rosen's work was being used for something other then intended, and being leaked from within the agency. She discovery it and tried to stop it from within, didn't know who she could trust " _

_" yeah she must have been really confused if she trusted you, you're probably the one trying to kill her!" Tony's comment had its desired effect and had Kort lunging for him._

_Letting go of Tony , Gibbs stepped in front of an enraged Kort. This was enough to rein himself in and return to his previous spot by the wall_

_"anything else?_

_Kort was sharp but restrained "not until I speak with her"_

_Tony was just about to respond when Gibbs slapped the back of his head and gave him a cold glare. Tony nodded and shut up._

-cell phone ring - reach for his phone " Gibbs" " Boss, Agent's Brock Booth and Andrew _Kramer are here from the CIA with the original case files and evident. They're the lead agents on the original investigation"  
>with phone this to his ear he start to head down the hall out of earshot of Kort and Tony "McGee I need you to check something..."<em>

_back in the hall , Kort decided to take charge and started heading for the room. In a flash, before his hand touched the door handle, Tony had his hand on his shoulder and was slamming him into the acquiescent wall. Kort was stunned momentarily , but then retaliated, kicking out and delivery several sharp blows to Tony's chest and face, but Tony gave as good as he got , breaking Kort's nose in the process. But somehow during the fight Kort had gotten the upper hand , dropping Tony down on the flood with a knife pressed up against his throat . Tony growled " do it, you son of a bitch" _

_" Trent , stop please!" _

_-clink- " Drop the knife ,Agent Kort!"_

_they both looked and there stood Gibbs gun drawn and Beth struggling to stand , breathing heavily clearly in extreme pain. Kort dropped the knife and quickly stood , moving towards Beth._

_"Beth?"_

_"Trent, I.." Beth's eyes suddenly rolled back up into her head and she began to fall. It all happened in slow motion , Tony screaming her name , Gibbs rushing forward and Kort catching her and cradling her close to his chest. _

_It was suddenly a flurry of activities as doctors and nurse rushed to the scene to attend to Beth. She was still unconscious on the bed , she had ripped her stitches and IV line, the blood still evident on her and Kort's clothing, mixing with his blood from his broken nose. _

_Gibbs had spoken with the MP's and hospitable security defusing the situation, Tony was sitting in a exam room being cleaned up , the fight had cracked his already bruised ribs and ripped open the stitched gash on his forearm not to mention the fat lip he now sported. The nurse was just leaving the room as Gibbs entered._

_ " Dinozzo what the hell were you thinking!" _

_" I wasn't boss" _

_" dam straight you weren't" _

_Gibbs, went to head slap him but stop himself " Why Tony"_

_ " Tony?... ah, I must have really screwed up, huh boss" he joked trying desperately to lighten the mood. _

_"Yeah" Gibbs sighed he needed not to be so close to Tony at this moment , when he had seen Tony on the ground with a knife pressed against his neck something snapped in him, in the past ten years there had been plenty of close calls for both of them, but something about this instance had really thrown him._

_"You ___are___ distracted, Tony." Gibbs stated, as he still looked him over._

"Yeah, but I don't mean to be. It won't happen again. . ." He answered in a self-degrading tone.

"Hey, Tony." Gibbs said gently with a hint of worry, as he examined Tony. "Are you done here?"

" Yeah, let me just grab my gear." Tony said, snapping back to the situation in front of him._ " So whats the story with Kort?"_

_"He came to NCIS asking for help and something more, hes got personal ties to this"_

_" You mean Beth"_

_" Yeah , he thought she was died till today"_

_"interesting" there was a pause, a look of worry cross Tony's face._

answering the question before it was asked " shes safe with him, Tony."

"How can you be so sure ?" anger evident in his voice

in a gentle voice not above a whisper, Gibbs answered " It was in his eyes, he will protect her no matter the cost " crystal blue met emerald green, and for a split second something passed between the two and then it was like nothing happened. Gibbs slapped Tony on the shoulder and then lead him out into the hall in search of some much needed coffee, he had a feeling there were both going to need it.

Slowly returning to consciousness Beth tried to remember what had happened . She remembered , Tony stepping out of the room, yelling, and then a little while later hearing what sounded to be a fight. She had felt compelled to force herself out of the bed, fighting thru the pain she had made it to the doorway. Tony and Trent. Suddenly it all became clear and her eyes flew open and she jumped up " Trent!" she yelled her heart racing.

From his spot standing by the window of the darken room he moves to her side, turning the bedside lamp on as he sat on the bed "I''m here"

the first thing she noticed was the traces of blood still on his jacket collar and sleeves and then the bruises to his face and finally his broken noses. Reaching her hand out to stroke his cheek he leans into her touch closing his eyes savior her touch. He finally spoke " I thought you were died" his voice is tight fighting back emotions. Beth has never seem him like this before and felt extremely guilty for being the cause of his obvious pain. " Trent I'm so sor.." before she can finish he opens his eyes and sweeps her into his arms, kiss her with so much passion , its almost to much to bare, she tries to fight it at first but then gives herself over to him and the unbelievable feelings hes creating in her. But all to quickly the kiss ends and he slow pulls back to stare into her eyes

"I thought I'd lost you all over again"

"Trent, I"

_"I'm sorry , I know you don't love me any more and that Kramer is who you want but I will protect you no matter if it may make you hate me even more in the process" Beth's head was spinning now , how could she not love him after experiences all the passion and emotion behind that kiss. and this Kramer who could he possibly be talking about, but then it hit her , Kramer had been a one shot character on the show , another CIA agent , she barely remembered him. She was caught in the middle of some sick game, with nothing but more and more questions. Frustratedly she let out anger sigh " this is all to much" _

_edited__^^- Slinkyrabbit_


	8. Chapter 8

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

Sometime later ,after that startling revelation from Kort ,and her own fatigue over the situation. Beth could no longer sleep , but she couldn't face Kort either. once she heard Kort leave the room, she opened her eyes, and pulled back the covers, carefully sitting up. Sighing, she guessed , he probably knew she wasn't asleep and decided she needed some space from him, 'of course that's what all men thought after dropping a bombshell like that...' she shook her head out of frustration ,at that moment she wished that Abby or Tony were there to distracted her. Then again where was Tony? She remembered the blood from the fight, worry clouded her thoughts was he alright? Could he have been hurt badly and was that why he hadn't come back? Beth's own thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. turning towards the door, she saw a young blond woman with her hair tied back in a bun and young man with brown hair, both wearing white lab coats, step into the room. Beth's eyes narrowed; she didn't recognize these two as hospital staff she had seen before. A slight feeling of suspicion crept into her stomach.

"Can I help you?" Beth asked.

The woman gave a small smile as she came up to the side of the bed; Beth's feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. "No my dear but, we can help you!"

"you look so weak, and tired. we have something here that will help you rest. ." The man continued. As he walked back to the door, and locked it.

Beth knew something was wrong and tried to get off the bed, and defend herself, but her injury's prevented that. The two assailants quickly grabbed hold of her and forced her down onto the bed.

"Now, now," the woman said in a sickeningly sweet voice as she and the man restrained Beth's hands and feet to the bed , " this doesn't have to be difficult , dear just relax and let us help you" the woman reached into her pocket and pulled a large syringe filled with an milky liquid

Beth couldn't help but feel a wave of fear sweep over her; strapped to the bed she was completely helpless and couldn't move at all. 'Oh God… Tony, Kort- where are you?'

" There will be no one here to save you this time Ms. Rosen , you should have stayed dead the first time." The woman said as she removed the top from the needle. Beth focused her gaze on the woman "If you honestly believe you will be able to just kill me and get away with it," Beth said bitingly, "then you don't know my friends at all. They will find you and hunt you down."

The woman flicked the syringe several times, gazing into the milky depths. ", it'll already be far too late for you. This is an extremely fast acting poison that attacks the Cardiovascular System; once injected it will stop your heart within two minutes. Officially, it will look like you merely suffered heart failure due to complications caused by your other injury's ; much cleaner and efficient then the beating they gave you the first time , don't you think?" an evil smile curved to her lips .

Then the woman leaned over Beth and inserted the syringe into her IV and injected the entire contents of it into the bag. Beth's eyes filled with fear and horror as she watched the poison enter the IV line and begin the slow but inevitable descent towards her veins. Beth frantically tried to loosen or break the restraints but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get away. "Easy dear," The woman said as she gazed at the IV line. "it won't be long , and now I get to watch the fear in your face as you wait to die." the woman said as she stroked the side of Beth's face almost lovingly. casting another look at the IV line; Beth's eyes widen in fear as she watched the poison's progress. The milky liquid had already reached the third way point and was continuing past as it moved its way down towards her veins. It seemed to be deliberately taking its time, and she could feel her heart begin to race in terror in realization of what was happening.

A sudden knock on the door got all three occupants attention. Beth grabbed at the opportunity and tried to give a shout to whoever it was, but the woman quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Holding the struggling Beth, she looked back towards her fellow assailant. "Don't just stand there!" She whispered furiously. "take care of it!"

The man quickly withdrew a small pistol with a silencer from his pocket . Hiding the weapon just out of sight , he opened the door , just enough so he could poke his head out.

"Can I help you, sir?" He asked in a perfectly calm tone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I think I left my cell phone behind in the room, with my friend; name's Agent Trent Kort , CIA." Kort said as he flashed is ID and badge to the man , to gain entry to the room.

Beth's eyes opened wide '...Trent!' , She frantically tried harder than ever to free herself from the woman's grasp; it was absolutely imperative that Trent knew what was going on. If the assassins managed to get him to leave, she'd be completely alone and helpless; she would die strapped to a hospital bed that she should never have been in the first place.

The woman tightened her grip and shot her a deadly look. "Behave yourself." She whispered menacingly. "Or you'll have the privilege of watching him die in-front of you."

Beth felt a sob form inside her chest. If she was going to die she would not put Trent at risk as well.

"I'm very sorry Agent Kort, but this patient is currently resting; it is vital that she not be disturbed under any circumstances."

"What's wrong?" Trent's voice had a quite noticeable pang of concern. "Is she alright?"

_'No Trent- please do not fall for it!'_

"She is currently in stable condition and is being monitored . However, whether she remains so will be determined by how well she recovers in the next few hours. That is why she cannot be disturbed. If we find your phone, we will be certain to contact you. Now will you be so kind as to allow your friend to rest?"

_'Trent- HELP!'_

There was a momentary silence. Beth shot another look towards the IV line and saw with horror that the poison was nearly at the end of the line. Another few seconds and it would be in her bloodstream. She prayed Trent would know something was wrong- as long he didn't do anything to get himself killed in front of her. She couldn't bear that guilt

" O um, thank you, Please page me when she wakes up; it's extremely important, I'll be down the hall.

_Oh God Trent, no!_

"Of course, Agent Kort. You'll be the first to know. Have a good day."

As the man closed the door, Beth knew this would be her only chance; if she didn't do something now, she would be left alone to die. The poison was about five seconds away from reaching the needle that was inserted into a vein in her arm- once that happened, it would be too late

With one last bit of renewed strength she gave a sudden head jerk to the left; catching the woman off guard, , and let the one word on her mind scream out from her throat:

"TRENT!"

Kort whipped around, his heart freezing in his chest.

Beth! Oh God no!

Without hesitation he drew his weapon and raced back towards the room and kicked the door in. The man who had answered previously was shunned momentary before raising his weapon ; his pause gave Trent ample opportunity to squeezed off two rounds, dropping the assailant on sight. Turning to the left, he saw a blonde woman standing next to Beth's bed and launched himself across the room, knocking her down.

Looking up, Trent froze in horror as he watched a bright milky liquid fill up the IV line taped to Beth's hand. With no other idea as to what to do, he yanked the needle out of her skin, setting off an alarm that soon filled the room.

"Beth!" Kort looked down at his love in terror; the young woman was convulsing violently on the bed as much as the restraints would allow, she gave no indication of having heard him. "Beth, please just hang on!"

He whipped his head around and shouted out towards the hall, "We need some help in here! Somebody!"

Kneeling down quickly, he grabbed hold of the blonde woman, dragging here up. "What did you do?" He practically yelled in her face. "Talk, goddamn it! What the hell did you do to her?" shaking her violently. The woman stared up at him, smiling. " it's too late." She replied coolly. "The poison has already entered her blood stream; in a little over a minute, it will reach her heart, and she will die right in front of you. There's nothing you can do."

Gibbs and Tony stood just down the hall after finishing several calls when a sudden localized alarm ringing in the area; "CODE BLUE Room 253! " a few seconds later a group of nurses and CCU techs raced past the two men in the direction of the patients rooms.

"Boss!" Tony's eyes widened. "Room 253 is Beth's room! Kort should be with her!"

However, he found he was talking to an empty space; Gibbs was already in hot pursuit of the nurses and CCU techs. He scrambled to catch up with them.

The group arrived at Beth's room in less than twenty seconds. Gibbs and Tony immediately drew their weapons and signaled for the CCU personnel to keep back. The agents burst in; Gibbs immediately saw the dead body of a brown haired man dressed as a doctor, a silenced pistol near his hand and two bullet wounds in his chest. Near the bed at the back was Kort, violently shaking and yelling at a young blonde woman dressed as a nurse. Gibbs' ears picked up the high-pitched uninterrupted frequency of the heart rate monitor; the straight line on it uninterrupted by the slightest sign of a pulse. Gibbs felt his blood freeze in his veins and he saw the open-eyed but unresponsive body of Beth on the bed.

"Clear!" Tony shouted as he swept the room.

"Kort!" Gibbs holstered his weapon and ran over to the CIA Agent. Kort had a death grip on the blonde woman "What happened?"

Kort tore his terrified eyes up towards Gibbs, " She injected some kind of poison into Beth's IV! , it's already in her bloodstream and it'll kill her in less than a minute!'

The CCU nurses were already swarming around the bed. "Give her a shot of epinephrine!" The charge doctor shouted to one of the nurses. "Her heart's not responding!"

"Tony!" Gibbs turned around to give an order to his senior field agent, but found that Tony had already anticipated it. Tony quickly restrained the blonde with handcuff and hauled her out of the room to the waiting MPs. Gibbs knew this would be to much for Tony to handle and was glad he had that distraction. Gibbs stood with Kort to the side of the room watching as the CCU staff frantically tried to resuscitate Beth

The charge doctor was being handed a syringe of what Gibbs assumed to be adrenaline and quickly inserted it into Beth's arm, emptying the entire contents into her vein.

"It's not working!" One of the nurses was shouting, even though her voice seemed somewhere far off in the distance.

Then he heard The charge doctor's voice: "She's gone into complete cardiac arrest! The defibrillator pads, now!"

Kort watched backed up against the wall, terrified as he watched the nurses clear a spot on Beth's chest in preparation for defibrillation. Never in his life had he seen Beth so vulnerable

_Damn it Beth, don't you die on me! I almost lost you once before- I can't bear for you to do it again. Not when I know what my feelings are. Don't you dare die on me-_

"Clear!"

The defibrillator emitted a shock to Beth's chest; Beth bounced up off the bed once and landed back motionless. The incessant single screech of the heart monitor made it clear her heart still wasn't responding.

"Clear!"

Another jolt sent Beth bouncing up and back down on the bed. Kort looked at her pale face, her emerald eyes still open but gazing into nothingness .

He turned back towards Gibbs, who was barking at The charge doctor. " Try it again! Again!"

"This is high as the safe range permits for someone in her condition." The doctor explained. "If we go any higher, it could permanently damage her heart beyond repair. If this level doesn't work…"

" DAM IT ..Just do it!"

The charge doctor seemed to pause for a moment then turned back towards Beth. He placed the paddles on her chest.

"Clear!"

Beth's body once again shuddered, her torso lifting all the way up off the bed before coming back down. Kort stared desperately into her face searching for something- _anything_- that would indicate she was responsive to that.

_Come on Beth- DO something! Anything! Beth, don't do this to me- PLEASE!_

There was a pause and suddenly The heartbeat monitor emitted a loud beep, throughout the room.

No one seem to move or breathe as they waited for another beat and then another and then a slow but steady pulse. A collective sigh of relieve filled the air , as the CCU staff continued to stabilize Beth. Looking to his side Gibbs noticed that Tony had returned to the room and was sitting on the floor with his head to his knees , trying to control his breathing , but what was shocking was that Kort was sitting next to him with a hand on his shoulder in a supporting gesture. A nurse finally sent them from the room , but only succeeded in moving them to the hall.

Beth was weak ,but stable ,she had not yet regained conciseness, and was resting comfortably. However, given the circumstances it was for the best; the doctor's would not know if there was any lasting damage from the poison until she awoke. Gibbs,Kort and Tony had taken up defensive positions in her room , at least that's what they told Tony for the time being , if Tony was going to be of any use to them he needed to rest and recover , his body had finally run out of adrenaline and he had passed out in the chair by the window. The two of them stood watch over there sleeping loved ones , the rest of the night, a quiet truce between them.

_Edited ^^_

_what do you think? Tony/Gibbs? Beth/ Kort . Woah Beth almost died , will she be OK? What about Tony. Who sent those assassins to kill Beth, what do they want? …...feel free to review and tell me what you think with over a couple thousand hits to this story to date ,I know there's got to be a least a few opinions out there, and I'd love to hear them ^^- Slinkyrabbit_


	9. Chapter 9

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2012 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

It was finally morning by the time Beth woke. She slowly stretched her body ,but groaned ,pain radiated from her chest causing her eyes to tear up . Panicked, her blurred eyes searched the room for the next potential threat. Instead she found a loudly snoring Tony ' they must have given him painkillers' she laughed to herself. Glancing at the bedside clock she could just make out the digital face "5:00am on the dot" . She saw movement on the side of the room, in the corner of her eye.

" Really, skulking Gibbs?"

he smirked , stepping towards her taking the seat next to the bed. " what gave me away"

"the caffeine, please tell me you brought me some"

he gave her a look, but handed over his cup, she sat up slightly wincing , course she wasn't sure if that was from the paint thinner strength marines coffee she smelled or just her injuries 'it was probably the coffee' she smirked

After taking a sip she quickly stuck out her tongue, as if that would remove the flavor and handed it back to Gibbs " O Jeeze Gibbs how can you drink this stuff , there's strong coffee and then there's just plain over kill". he smirked but, then became serious.

"How you feeling?"

"Alive" she answered dripping with sarcasm, but then her mood turned somber

"Someone wants you died, why"

"like I know" she glared at him, but one look from Gibbs had her backing down.

"I'm sorr..." she began to say, but one look from Gibbs had her stop. " I don't know , what to do everything's still a big blur, and …." . A particularly loud snore interrupted her , she smiled and turned towards Tony. " hows he doing? " eying his bruised cheek, and bandage neck. " hot shoting it again, but, alive"

stunned she turned back towards Gibbs ready to defend Tony "Gibbs, he was only concerned with my well being, given his history with Kort , he'd be right to be weary"

"That so!"

" Yes ,and another thing...", something dawned on her, " but, you already knew that " she sighed , shaking her head, she turned back to Tony, watching him sleep peacefully,she then noticed the coat that had been draped over him , smiling she spoke "... Do you even realize how much he loves you, Gibbs" he showed no signs of the being shocked or disrupted by the statement except for a slight pause while finishing his coffee. " But you love him to, question is will either of you be willing to do anything about it."

she didn't expect an answer to that, so she was almost glad to hear the door open and Kort entered the room. Gibbs nodded at him as he headed out the door under the guise of seeking out more coffee. Before anything could be said, a nurse entered the room to check Beth's vitals, and brought in her breakfast. The sound of the tray being set down , awoke Tony , who discreetly grabbed his pack, and headed out to check with the security detail , and speak with the team. After the nurse had finished, Kort took the seat next to Beth ,taking a bottle out of his coat pocket, he placed it in front of Beth. She smile widely at him " O Milk tea , your a saint Trent , I so needed my caffeine fix , honestly I don't know how Gibbs can stand that stuff" he laughs but then clears his throat " we need to talk Beth" after taking a sip , she closed her eyes and nodded " yes , we do"

_After speaking with Kort at great lengths to the direness of the situation, Beth felt like her head would explode , not only did she find herself in another world, but she had landed right in the middle of a war-zone. This Beth Rosen, whom they all thought she is or was , boy was she in a lot of trouble, between making serious enemies with these Bali terrorists, and being caught in the center of a major agency leak; involving one or more of there own turning rouge. Added to the fact that she had been tortured, and apparently found murdered in her car a few weeks ago, only to somehow, turn up alive, but baring the same injures as described in her autopsy. 'her autopsy' that fact alone should be enough to send her, and any normal person running for the hills . Either way, one thing was sure ,someone had wanted her out of the way, and this second attempt had really hit that home , next time ,and she knew there would be a next time it would be game over. Visibly shaken, and feeling weaker then before , Kort urged Beth to rest, taking her hand in his , stroking it gently until she fell asleep. His eyes never leaving her face._

_"She's not safe here , Gibbs"_

_unbeknownst to Beth, but not Kort. Gibbs had quietly slipped back into the room, silently watching over them._

_"agreed, teams got a safe house ready, Ducky's on stand by"_

_Kort shook his head slightly, he was happy Beth was going to be in the safe house, protected and cared for, but something told him it wasn't going to be enough. He wanted, no, ___needed ___to make sure she was okay. ___I should be there with her, I won't let anything happen.__

Gibbs seemed to read Kort's thoughts. He took a deep breath, "You're going with her"

this shocked Kort he was sure he was going to have to fight Gibbs on this. He smiled and turned towards Gibbs " whats the plan"

"follow me"

Kort paused not wanting to leave Beth's side

" _Dinozzo will be here , until you get back"_

_Kort tensed but nodded , following Gibbs out into the hall , only to be greeted by FBI Agent __Tobias Fornell_

"Tobias"

" Jethro, seems I owe you one less favor now"

"everything set"

Fornell hands Gibbs a manila envelope."at the side entrance and waiting , can't wait to hear the story behind this one , Jethro.

"what are you playing at ,Gibbs?"

Smirking Gibbs turns towards Kort "inter agency prisoner transfer"

_NCIS Bullpen_

After hearing from Gibbs earlier that morning about the attack on Beth , McGee and Ziva had gotten to the Navy yard to start processing the assassins, except now they had two bodies , while in transport the woman had slipped a poison pill, it was concealed in a false tooth and worked loose by her tongue , she bit into the capsule, breaking the glass, and died almost instantly, taking all her secrets with her. They were again back to square one , with little to go on. Kramer had just arrived , with additional intel on the _Bali cell hoping that they could make some head way on that angle, and to finally catch those bastards that killed his fiance, of course he wasn't planning on giving up that piece of information to these Navy cops if he could help it. _

_"Ok ,so let me get this straight , they send these assassins to kill your witness in a secure naval hospital, with a security detail , they succeed in poisoning the witness, and nearly kill them. Then your detail drops one , and lets the other off themselves, without learning anything. Bravo!" he clapped sarcastically, from his spot at Tony's desk, earning a death glares from both McGee and Ziva. _

_" was it not your team who allowed the death of Rosen, to begin with." Ziva growled back , slamming her hands against the desk, her anger getting the best of her. That hit a nerve ,and had Kramer standing up , facing off against Ziva. " You have a problem with me, and my team Agent David!" " Yes I do not like snakes in sheep's clothing" _

_the elevator dinged signaling the arrival of Agent Booth , walking into the bullpen he stopped before the obvious confrontation, the tension was thick in the air " is there a problems Agents David and Kramer" _

_ looking toward Booth, and seeing he wouldn't be backing him up , Kramer relented sighing he replied " No Sir" _

_" No, there is not, Agent Booth" Ziva stepped back taking her seat at her desk. _

_" Have you spoken with Agent Gibbs , is the witness medically cleared for transport to the safe house._

_Ziva was clearly too agitated to answer so McGee stepped in . " um yes, but there's a problem Agent Booth. it turns out that the FBI has a warrant for our witnesses arrest on federal charges and has pulled jurisdiction, on us , Gibbs and Dinozzo are currently overseeing the transfer to the FBI's custody." _

_Booth was extremely careful not to show his anger in this change , Kramer however was not so calm. " your kidding me, your team nearly gets this witness killed , and now your just handing them over to the FBI, without getting us any further in this case, what kind of place are you running here"_

_"A tight ship, Agent Kramer" a deep authoritative male voice rang out, they all looked up to see Director Vance standing on the balcony , above them. " Do you have a problem following protocol, Agent Kramer " _

_" No , Director" he replied straightening up _

_"Good" Vance , looked over to Ziva and McGee a quick conversation seemed to pass between them before , he turned and continued to MTAC. _

_Booth grabbed Kramer and headed for the stairwell. Shoving him hard into the wall, Booth turned on him. " get your fucking head in the game Kramer! ,before I have to pull you from the investigation, __your letting your emotions control you" _

_" get your hands off ,of me, Booth! " Kramer yelled, stepping away, he shrugged him off trying to readjust his suit coat and tie. Which seems to be a futile attempt to calm his nerves. he slams his palms against the far wall of the stairwell and lets out a groan in anguish " three fucking weeks and we're not any closer to finding out , who killed Beth or why!" he grinds his teeth in a attempt to hold back the tears burning his eyes. Booth steps forward placing his hand on Kramer's shoulder trying to soothe him _ " Andrew , I know but you've got to keep it together man, for Beth's sake" playing on Kramer's heart strings was always Booths favorite method of rein in his subordinate. He laughed to himself , his methodical method of controlling those around him never failed, it made him very successful in the agency and extremely profitable in his outside dealings.

_ Turning Kramer towards him, and taking him by the shoulders "Take five, and get your dam head on straight , I need you on this. We've got to get access to that witness, before the FBI compromises this investigation further. You and I both know, NCIS knows more then there telling. We need to stick to Gibbs' team, and find out what that is. And you need to take it down a notch, and play nice, got it!" _

_One look into Booth's face, and he knew he was right. Kramer closed his eyes, letting out a breath to steady himself. " your right , Brock" Booth nodded patting his shoulder , straightening he turned giving Kramer one last look before leaving the man to his thoughts. Once alone Kramer reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an antique sapphire engagement ring, the platinum band shined in the dull stairwell light , he tilted it and stared at the inscription - For I'd Found Love, And Love Was You -_

_It was a beautifully moonlit night for a picnic that Kramer had finally found his courage to ask her; _

__:flashback:__

__Andrew stood before her , before dropping on one knee. He took a small velvet ring box from his pocket and propped it open, revealing a small, platinum band with a single sapphire and two small diamonds on either side of the setting__

__"Beth, you have no idea how much I actually love you. You mean the world to me- in fact, you are my world. I always want to be with you, forever- physically, mentally and emotionally. You empower me to get up every morning- I do it to see you and your beautiful face. Will you Marry Me?"__

__Tears brimmed the young woman's mouth and she removed the hands clamped to her face during his speech. __

__"Yes," she whispered, "I love you. Yes."__

__Andrew hopped up and slipped the ring on his now fiancee's waiting finger. He grinned for a second, before gently wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest. She beamed as they kissed passionately, under the starry nights sky__

__:End of flashback.__

_He placed the ring back in his pocket , pressing it against his chest " I promise !"_

_Woah, Beth just called Gibbs out , She must have a death wish. Then again at this rate she just might end up dead. What about Gibbs whats he got up his sleeve? Or Booth for that matter maybe Ziva made a mistake on the 'snake in sheep's clothing'. And what about poor Kramer ,he still doesn't know that Beth's is alive...ok so now that part where you guys press the button , with some many people __reading this story I'd love to hear , what you think so ,Please review ^^- Slinkyrabbit_


	10. Chapter 10

"So I'm Dead" Series fan fiction copyright 2013 by Slinkyrabbit

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to CBS Television Studios . No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. All other OC mentioned characters or to be introduced later are of my own creation.

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

Gibbs entered the room with Kort and _Fornell__ , behind him. Finding a now fully dressed Beth and Tony sitting on the hospital bed , speaking in hushed tones. _

" Are you ready , Ms Rosen ?" Fornell asked

Beth nodded. " Yes and it's just Beth" she paused and drew in a breath "You guys won't let anything happen to me, right?" looking to the men before her, nervelessly picking at the hospitable staff uniform shes been given to wear.

from next to her Tony takes her hand in his "Try to relax,"

Beth smiled weakly at Tony "Kinda hard to, knowing that someone's trying to kill me."

Gibbs stepped closer to her ,grabbed a chair , and he sits down directly in-front of her , holding her gaze. "no one is going to hurt you, Beth" Gibbs responses

"your just saying that to make me feel better" returning his gazes

"did it?" his eyebrow raised

"yeah" she gives him a small smiles.

Fornell cleared his throat addressing the room, " alright here's the run down, we will have two teams Dinozzo and Rosen will be with me to the west thru the ambulance bay , where Agent Sacks is on standby. Gibbs and Kort will run interferences with our deco, Agent Krieger to the south thru the Loading docks, transport will be waiting. Both teams will then proceed to the bravo rondevu point and from there the safe house. My agents are waiting in the next room to make the switch"

Kort had been silently watching the exchange from beside Fornell and though he hated the idea of not being the one to protect Beth, he knew it would be for the best , at least this way he could make himself and Gibbs a much more appealing target and buy _Dinozzo and Beth, the time they needed._

_The switch was made seamless as Agent __Courtney__ Krieger physical attributes were quite similar to Beth's , all that was needed was a wig and make up to copy the visible bruising and the illusion was complete. Gibbs, Kort and Krieger would go first , drawing just enough attention to be noticed by making use of the scenic route and visitor elevators. Once the agree upon amount of time had passed, Fornell, Tony and Beth proceed from the adjacent room, taking the direct route to the Hospital personal only elevators , they would bring them directly to the ER level and the ambulance bay. A simple and effective plan, or at least it would have been before all hell broke loose._

_It started as soon as they reach the ambulance bay with no Sacks in sight, Tony move forward to get a clear view of the surrounding area , when the sound of an explosion and then rapid gun fire started , to the south of there location. Immediately they all just knew , it had to be Gibbs and Kort in the thick of it , an ambushed, which meant that they too were compromised. " Dinozzo, there" Fornell called out and directing Tony's attention to a speeding van that was now barreling down the alleyway of the bay __towards them , Tony had just pushed Beth to the side as the side door to the van opened and bullets began to fly , a luck one hitting Tony in his shoulder before he was able to take cover for himself. __crouching behind an ambulance with Beth for cover as Fornell return fire, Tony retrieved his cell to call for back up and cursed " fuck" the phone had been damaged and would not connect to the cell towers for service, it was useless and they were seriously screw at the moment. _

Gibbs ducked as a bullet ricocheted over his head "Damn it, Kort, why is it that every time the shit hits the fan, there's a dirty CIA agent in the mix?"

"How do you know it was my guy?" Even as he changed magazines, smirking, Kort knew the leak hadn't come from any of Gibbs' people, at least not intentionally.

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs didn't even bother to respond as he shifted to the left, hoping for a better angle. It worked and one of their attackers went down just as another car arrived. Now seriously outnumbered, the two men decided to risk making a run for it, to get to where they believed backup would be waiting . There only hope now was that Beth and Tony had made it out safely with Fornell's team. . Gibbs and Kort laid down enough firepower to slow down their pursuers. They made it out clear of the loading dock of the hospital just as their car exploded. Luckily none of them had been seriously hurt , however _Krieger had been knocked unconscious from the blast and Gibbs had been able to drag her back into the_ building before return to cover Kort, at least she was safe for moment , unlike them.

"Crap, come on." Between the burning car and the two groups of gunmen, there was only one way out, a narrow passage between a row of dumpsters and the wall of the hospital, lending to the alley. Knowing it was risky but , they had no choice but to go for it.

"There." Kort pointed as he changed direction, never slowing down.

Gibbs nodded , covering them from behind as they ran down the passage.

"they've missed their check-in."

"You know Kort, he always has his own timetable." Smirking, Andrew Kramer leaned back and setting his feet on Tonys desk, pushing the keyboard out of his way. He didn't have a chance to get comfortable before Booth walked over knocked his feet back onto the floor. Giving him a look before leaning back against the desk. Ziva smiles approvingly and McGee stepped forward , getting in Booth's Face.

"Not when he's got my boss with him. Gibbs doesn't miss deadlines. Check it again." Booth seems to study McGee, and then relented " Kramer!" " On it!"

Kramer checked for the signal, finding no sign either man had attempted to link up with the computers at NCIS. He called his counterpart at the CIA and received the same answer.

When McGee saw Kramer shake his head, he turned his attention to Ziva and together they intensified their search.

"I got something," McGee had barely hung up the phone before he was up on his feet. " vehicle Explosion and gun fight at Bethesda . Local LEO's have the site secured and state troopers are on their way."

"Casualties?" Ziva was already heading for the parking lot, still shoving her SIG into her holster.

"Several, they are still looking."

It was a tense drive to Bethesda . The fact that McGee handed the keys to Ziva told volumes of how worried he really was. Booth and Kramer just hung on for the ride.

The LEO's were quick to turned over control of the scene to the team , while processing the car McGee spoke "If they didn't use this car, how'd they get away from here?"

"Over here." Ziva's call brought McGee and Kramer quickly as Booth lagged behind. 100 yards or so from the burned out car at the mouth of an alley , a destroyed cell phone laid in a large pool of blood trailing off to a likely escape route. Following the blood trail they found shatter glass and shell cases , evidence's of a smashed car window and an additional fire fight.

With Kramer and Ziva bent over, looking at the multiple spots of blood and glass, it was McGee that first spotted the remains in the gutter slightly hidden by a dumpster. "over here"

McGee ordered the rest of them to stay put while he approached the body. It was a testament to how stunned Kramer and Ziva were that they didn't argue with the younger agent. He stopped at the legs first, struggling to remember if he'd ever seen Tony wearing the expensive Italian shoes. Finally, taking a deep breath, he look up towards the mangled body. Everything from the shoulders up was destroyed beyond recognition, probably from the explosion, so McGee forced himself to focus on the torso. He'd never been so grateful that his partner was such a fashion snob as he stared at the remains of the tacky suit . "It's not Tony."

Relieved, Kramer and Ziva joined him, Booth a moment later. " is it Kort?"

At Ziva's question, McGee gave the body a second look. " No, I don't think so." going back to the phone , McGee examined it , the screen was crack but he was able to turn it on a cold chill went down his back as he realized it was Tony's which meant that this was probably his blood as well, Tony was hurt and from the looks of it , he was hurt bad. On the screen the last application accessed was already loading , it was a text message , addressed to him. - it was a set up , going off grid, rule #40 - this was bad, Tony and Gibbs would go to ground and there would be no way for the team to back them up , plus someone had leaked there location , putting them all at risk. Instinctively , before the others could catch up ,Tim deleted the message and pocketed the SD card, he sighed hoping he was doing the right thing.

Hanging back from the group, to answer a call from his men. " this had better be good" " we were able to savage the op photos as you requested, I'm sending you a photo of the witness now" a beep signaled that Booth's phone had received the photo. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared in horror of the image in-front of him , he was seeing a ghost " that's impossible shes dead" he nearly shouted in the phone" I'm sorry sir, there no mistake , Rosen is they're witness and Kort's appears to be protecting her"

Brock Booth was not the type to lose his cool, under pressure, but you wouldn't know that from the way he growled into his phone "Find them. I don't care , what you have to do , find them now!" his knuckles turning white, as he gripped the phone tighter "I need Rosen and Kort alive ! I want my codes back , don't screw this up "

Ok first off sorry it been so long if I've update , but my muse decided to work on other projects before let me come back to this one but don't worry you wont believe what we've got in store for you next. Anyways thank you and i hope you enjoyed this latest chapter plus all the additional edits , and as always I love to hear from you guys ;p


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